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South Korean court hears final arguments in Yoon's death penalty case for martial law
Prosecutors in South Korea have requested death penalty for ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law declaration.
South Korean prosecutors sought the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched declaration of martial law in 2024.
Yoon was indicted last year on charges of insurrection, less than two months after he shocked the nation and the world by briefly suspending civilian rule, plunging South Korea into its worst constitutional crisis in decades. The short-lived decree ultimately led to his impeachment and the first-ever arrest and indictment of a sitting president of Korea.
Prosecutors demanded the death penalty at a final hearing for Yoon held at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday, arguing that his actions constituted “a grave act of constitutional destruction by anti-state forces.” They had initially been set to seek sentencing last week, but the court opted to hold an additional hearing after the previous session stretched for hours and ran late into the night. A verdict is expected next month.
The former president is accused of sending soldiers into parliament in a bid to lock down the National Assembly. The effort failed, and lawmakers swiftly voted to end martial law.
Yoon has denied any wrongdoing, saying his declaration was a desperate bid to counter what he claimed were North Korea sympathizers trying to paralyze his administration.
Many former South Korean presidents have been prosecuted and jailed after leaving office. But Yoon is the first ex-leader in decades to face the prospect of either a death sentence or life imprisonment.
In 1996, former President Chun Doo-Hwan was sentenced to death for his role in a crackdown that killed almost 200 anti-government protesters in 1980, a punishment later commuted to life in prison.
Under South Korean law, penalties for leading an insurrection are limited to either death or life imprisonment. Even if Yoon is sentenced to death, the punishment would likely be largely symbolic —- the country has not carried out any executions since 1997.
